Varieties of Roots. 



149 



This table shows that the average composition of the mangel of to- 

 day is practically the same as it was 50 years ago. We are forced to 

 acknowledge that there has been no improvement in the feeding value 

 of mangels in the past 40 years, although the sugar beet has been in- 

 creased 50 per cent, in its value for sugar production. In the latter case 

 there was a recognition of the fact that sugar-beets were grown to pro- 

 duce sugar and a method was discovered which would measure the 

 amount of sugar in the root. In the latter case there has been no general 

 recognition that dry matter was the object sought and consequently there 

 has been no methodical breeding to secure it. 



Naturally, the question arises, " Is the percentage of dry matter in 

 mangels the measure of 

 their feeding value?" In 

 view of our present 

 knowledge the writers 

 have accepted as proved 

 that it is, and the meth- 

 ods for the improvement 

 of the mangel now sug- 

 gested are made on this 

 understanding. It is 

 probable that in 1850 

 sugar-beets containing 

 20 per cent, of sugar ex- 

 isted, but there was no 

 practical means of de- 

 tecting them. It is also 

 equally certain that man- 

 gels containing 20 per 

 cent, of dry matter exist to-day, and that this character can be trans- 

 mitted as easily as that of high sugar content. The only difficulty with 

 most seed-growers has been a reliable means for ascertaining which of 

 the mangels contain the high dry matter content. Considerable work in 

 this direction has been done by Messrs. Wood and Berry at Cambridge 

 University, England. They have shown that by extracting a core from 

 a mangel and by determining the dry matter in this sample, they had a 

 comparatively close indicator of the composition of the root. The root 

 varies in composition in different parts, but a sample taken with a cheese 

 trier obliquely through the root is almost as accurate as analyzing a quar- 

 ter of the root and this method leaves the root uninjured for planting. 

 Having selected a number of roots in the field, the crowns being preserved 

 uninjured, they should be numbered and sampled or " cored " by means 



Fig. 59. — Lobbcrich Agricultural carrot. Purely a 

 stock carrot. A vigorous grower. It permits ef 

 early cultivation and is adapted to a ivide range of 

 soils. It is somewhat tardy in^growth when young. 



